Too Long In The Rain
by Trainwreck729
Summary: Hermione is the transfiguration teacher and when new teachers arrive at Hogwarts Oliver is asked by Dumbledore to watch over Hermione and keep her from harm. But whom is he protecting her from?
1. Chapter 1

Too long in the rain

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Summary: Hermione is the transfiguration teacher and when new teachers arrive at Hogwarts Oliver is asked by Dumbledore to watch over Hermione and keep her from harm. But whom is he protecting her from? Is it Draco, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Snape, the old potions master, or Pansy Parkins, the new charms teacher? Or, could it be someone, or something, else.

Oliver was just getting back from a practice with his teammates on the Puddlemere United team. He closed the door behind him and when he turned around he let out a yell of surprise, before him sat his old headmaster, Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled kindly, looking at Oliver over his half-moon glasses before saying gently," I didn't mean to scare you."

Oliver nodded placing his broom in his closet and turning back to Dumbledore," to what do I owe this visit?"

"I actually came to ask you for a big favor." Dumbledore said standing up, his robes sweeping around him.

"A favor?" Asked Oliver, his accent coming out strong.

"Yes, do you remember a young lady by the name of Hermione Granger?" Inquired Dumbledore.

"Ah, she was Potter and Weasley's friend if I remember correctly, people called her a bookworm, I think." Said Oliver thinking back.

Dumbledore nodded," Yes, that's the one."

Oliver shrugged," What about her?"

"I need you to help protect her."

"Protect her? From who."

"That, I do not know, all I know is that she has been having a rough time."

"How can you tell."

"I have my ways."

Oliver sighed a bit, remembering Dumbledore's cryptic ways," Why me? Why not Potter or Weasley?"

"They have tried to help her but they haven't been able to get through to her. They will continue trying but I need someone who can be there constantly, to protect her, and have someone she can talk to. Oliver, I know you didn't know Hermione very well, but she needs your help."

Oliver thought then looked back at the headmaster, how could he say no? "Alright, I'll do it."

Dumbledore smiled," Thank you."

Oliver then remembered," But I can't leave my team."

"I talked to your coach, when your mission is over you can return if you wish to."

"How did you know I would say yes?"

Dumbledore winked then disappeared.

Oliver sighed and decided to pack then remembered something Dumbledore said and repeated it to himself," If I _wish_ to return?"

A few days later Oliver was arriving at Hogwarts, he walked into the Great Hall and looked at the staff table and saw people he had least expected to Pansy P., Draco, and Snape were all at one end chatting. He saw Dumbledore who nodded his head to him he continued looking and finally rested his eyes on one of the youngest teachers, Hermione. He raised and eyebrow when he saw that her hair had calmed down a bit, but she still looked the way she did when she was a young girl in Hogwarts, he also recognized that she was sitting by herself at the far end of the table writing something. He took a breath and walked towards the staff table aware of students starting to talk. He sat next to Hermione and was about to start talking to her when Dumbledore stood up and silenced everyone before speaking, "I would like you all to welcome Oliver Wood from the Puddlemere United Quidditch team who will be the flying instructor for the remainder of the year." As he stood up the Great Hall was filled with clapping and cheering. Oliver smiled and waved before sitting down. "Thank you Professor Wood, thank you all, and enjoy!" He clapped his hands and soon food appeared on all the tables as the students and teachers started eating, minus one. About twenty seconds after Dumbledore sat down, Hermione stood up. She walked over to the headmaster and told him she was returning to her room before walking out of the Great Hall, turning many students heads. Dumbledore looked over at Oliver and Oliver leaned back in his seat and sighed," _This is gonna be harder than I thought_."


	2. Chapter 2

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 2

After the feast Oliver walked over to Dumbledore and got his room/office assignment. Oliver thanked him then walked off to his room. When he got there he saw that his portrait was that of a knight on a white horse, he also saw that next to his was that of a great lion and a cliff in the background. He looked back at his painting and asked," Whose room is next to mine?"

The painting looked at him and said sarcasticly," Nice to meet you too, I am Sir Edgar, and you must be Oliver." Oliver nodded sheepishly at forgetting his manners, "The room that you inquired about belongs to Miss Hermione Granger."

Oliver looked back at the painting, the lion was now gone," What can you tell me about her?"

Sir Edgar sighed before saying," It's a shame, she really is a lovely woman, always nice to everyone, all the students love her, I hear them talking about her classes when they walk by."

"So what's wrong?" Asked Oliver.

"She doesn't go out sir, other than to her classes and for food. Something changed. She used to go out all the time; I knew she was going out on a date of some sort because she got dressed up and looked so beautiful, she was always smiling then." Explained Sir Edgar sadly.

"She doesn't smile?"

"Oh, she smiles, but anyone who's known her and seen her…really seen her, can tell it's a fake smile."

"Does she have any friends come over?"

"Oh, she has three friends, two male and one female…ah, Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ronald Weasley, and Mrs. Ginny Yarnall."

"Mrs.?"

"Yes, she married a muggle man from what Hermione has told me, a few months back, before Hermione stopped going out. Ginny doesn't visit as much any more, now it's mostly the men. Hermione loves them so."

"Doesn't she smile when they visit?"

Sir Edgar seemed a bit offended," Of course she does, she has a jolly old time, or so the three say, she isn't a rude person Mr. Wood. She's nice to everyone and everyone seems to like her."

"Don't they realize she's not really happy?" Asked Oliver wondering how thick Potter and Weasley really were.

"Of course they do, but they don't know how to go about it. They keep coming back and trying to cheer her up, they can sometimes do it but sometimes they come on her worst days."

Oliver turned to the portrait," It seems as though you care for her a great deal."

The knight nodded," And if you think I care for her, you should talk to her portrait, the lion named Fidelis, he protects her as much as she can…but those dreams."

"What dreams?"

"I don't know much, you should really talk to Fidelis."

Oliver nodded and looked back at the portrait seeing that the lion was back," I will." He walked over to Fidelis who stared down at him, making Oliver seem miniscule.

"Are you here to see Miss Hermione?" Boomed the lion.

Oliver stood strong," No actually, I'm here to talk to you in fact."

The lion raised an eyebrow," Me? Whatever for?"

"My name is Oliver Wood and I was-"

"I know who you are, and I know what you're after. Go into your common room, we'll speak more then."

"But how-"

"Just GO," roared Fidelis making Oliver step back. He composed himself, and nodded saying the password to Sir Edgar and continued into his common room.

Oliver looked around his common room and saw that his bags had been brought up.

"Over here Mr. Wood." Called Fidelis's voice and he turned around and saw an empty portrait now filled with Fidelis," Please have a seat."

Oliver sat down on his sofa and asked," Now about Hermione's dreams-"

"She has them almost every night, some nights worse than others. The worst ones are when she wakes up yelling, the least dreadful are when she wakes up after tossing and turning. I try and calm her down as best I can, but I am only a painting."

"Sir Edgar told me she used to go out a lot-" But Oliver was interrupted again.

"With her boyfriend, Viktor Krum."

"Right, what happened?"

"That, I do not know."

"She didn't tell you?"

"There are some things in this world, Mr. Wood, that we keep with us, and for us alone, for our own reasons. These reasons could be for the better, or they could destroy us. Hermione is slowly being destroyed from the inside, she needs a companion, that's where you come in."

"You want me to date her."

"Heaven no, get her to talk, that's all I want from you." He said as if the idea of Oliver dating Hermione was like using one of the unforgivable curses.

Oliver nodded then remembered," Dumbledore told me to protect her, but he didn't tell me from who."

Fidelis looked grave," That you must learn for yourself." He looked out of the frame," Hermione is calling, I must take my leave. And remember, if you hurt her, there are a lot of people you will have to answer to, people who can actually get out of a frame." With that he left. Oliver sighed and grabbed his bags taking them into his room and laying down on his bed, suddenly very tired.


	3. Chapter 3

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 3

When Oliver woke the next morning, he was totally unaware that he had fallen asleep and looked at his wristwatch and his eyes widened," Oh no." He said to himself and jumped into the shower quickly hopping out and into an outfit under his robes. As he dashed down to the Great Hall he wondered how his first class would be. And as he walked into the Great Hall he remembered what he was there for and looked for 'Professor Granger'. Soon after entering he realized that she wasn't there and after breakfast he walked up to the headmaster asking if Hermione missed breakfast much.

"She's rarely here, the elves have told me, rather reluctantly I might add, that she sometimes comes down here and gets some food after hours. She was here last night because I told her that I would be making an announcement and she should be there, polite girl Hermione is, whenever I ask her to do something, she does it, and looks nice while doing it." Explained Dumbledore.

Oliver nodded, taking in this new information then remembered something," Yesterday she was writing in a book or journal of some kind-"

"Ah yes, her journal, she started it a few months back, right after the sudden change in her personality." Explained Dumbledore.

"Right…um, I'd better get to my first class, it might not be a good impression if I'm late eh?" Joked Oliver.

Dumbledore nodded with a twinkle in his eye," Probably not." Oliver said his goodbyes and went to his first class out in the pitch. As he walked out he passed by the Transfiguration classroom and saw Hermione bent over something furiously writing. She looked well kempt as usual," _Dumbledore was right, she does look nice._" He forgot he was staring until Hermione looked up. She stood up and started to say something but was cut off when some of her students walked in and said hello to her. She smiled back to them and started chatting. Oliver sighed and turned to go turning back to her once more, his eyes resting on her open journal, she looked up from who she was talking to and down at her journal closing it then looking back at Oliver. He nodded his head to her and she returned the gesture and turned back to her students smiling as more students walked in.

After all of Oliver's classes he was smiling like never before, well maybe less than when he got his very own broom but this was still a very blinding smile. All of his classes had gone over smoothly, yes he had to deduct some points, but that was from Slytherin so he was perfectly fine with that. He looked at his watch and saw that he still had time to talk to Hermione at her classroom if he hurried. He jumped onto his broom and flew to the entrance running down the halls occasionally waving to his students before arriving at Hermione's classroom only to knock down a girl with brown hair. He looked over her shoulder to see Hermione but it turned out she was gone. He then looked at the person he knocked over to apologize and saw that it was none other than the feisty Professor Granger herself picking up her scattered paper. Oliver cursed mentally and bent down to help her.

"Oh, thank you." She said after her papers had been returned.

"It's not problem, ah, sorry for running into you, are you alright?" He asked genuinely concerned, she seemed a bit shaky after their collision.

"I'm fine, really, thanks though." She said smiling a bit then as the awkward silence set in and Oliver was about to re-introduce himself, Hermione cut him off by saying," Well I should get going…dinner and all." She said and turned to leave but stopped when Oliver laid a hand on her arm.

"Speaking of which I haven't seen you there since I arrived yesterday, I'm Oliver Wood, if you don't remember." He held his hand out and she took it.

"I remember, you were captain of the Quidditch team when Harry was here." She said pulling her hand back.

"And you were at every game cheering him on, if I remember correctly you once lost your voice for a few days after the championship game." He teased a bit and saw her cheeks redden a bit.

"Yes, well, it was good to see you again, goodbye Professor Wood." She said and left him there staring after her with a slight grin on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks Mr. Wood had talked to Hermione twice, the first time was when he smashed into her and the second was at dinner when she stood up and he had said goodbye. "_She's got one hard outer shell, and it's gonna be hard to crack it._"

He had finally remembered what Dumbledore said about her going down into the Great Hall at night and finally went down to try and intercept her. After two days of missing her he finally caught her walking down, but he wasn't the only one watching her. Before he even came out from his spot where he had been (he wasn't seen by anyone) someone else got to Hermione first and grabbed her wand and book she had been reading. As Hermione whirled on her attacker a fire in her eyes could be seen.

"You again?" She asked obviously knowing this person.

"You know it mudblood." Said the man, and as we all realize, it was Draco Malfoy.

"Listen we're not in school anymore so there's no one here for you to try and act brave and tough in from of so just give it a rest." She said in her 'know-it-all' voice.

"Ouch, that hurt." He said walking up to her but she took a step back raising her eyes to meet the taller man's eyes.

"Now, now, now Mr. Malfoy, we don't want to do something we would regret at a later time, am I correct?" She asked, well not exactly asked…

"For once you are not Granger, I would never regret this." He lunged at her but she dropped to the ground putting her leg out and sending Malfoy into a wall. She then turned on him and shouted,"** Petrificus Totalus**!" And a spark was sent out of her fingers and hit Malfoy dead between the eyes making him as stiff as a board, and making Oliver's eyes widen. Hermione took a breath and then said still fierce but not as much as before," Accio wand." Her wand flew from Malfoy's hand and into her own. She walked over to him and pointed her wand at his heart while she went into his pocket and took out his pocket watch, standing up with her wand still pointed at him and opened the watch looking at it and said," Bloody hell." She closed the watch and looked back at the man and muttered the counter-spell. Before Malfoy could stand Hermione showed him her wand pointed at him and he stopped nodding to her.

"It seems as though you won this round." He smirked but Hermione was in no mood.

"Goodbye Mister Malfoy." She said and turned on her heel and went to walk away then she turned back around and threw his pocket watch at him hitting him in the gut, she was smirking right back at him as she picked up her book and continued on her way back to her room. Finally, after the shocking scene that he had just witnessed, Oliver stood up and walked over to Malfoy who had just wiped some blood off of the corner of his mouth. Oliver grabbed Malfoy by the lapels and pulled him up and into the wall.

"Nice to see you too Wood." Said Malfoy after a well-earned groan on his part.

"Listen here Malfoy, I don't like you now or ever, you're a slime, a Slytherin and just an all around wanker. That sounds like good reasons to hate you right? Now besides that I just saw you try and attack Hermione, and hear me, if I ever catch you near Hermione again, I will accio your family jewels far, far away, do you understand me?" After Wood said this Malfoy nodded he wasn't smirking but there was still a defiant look on his face. Oliver set him down and watched as Malfoy walked away, in the opposite direction of Hermione. Oliver took a deep breath and then remembered that Hermione never actually got her food. He walked into the Great Hall intending to try and get on Hermione's good side after seeing what she could do when she was angry.

Hermione walked into her room, well stumbled into her room, the effect of casting two spells without a wand finally catching up with her. She got changed into her silk nightgown and laid on her bed then remembered that she had essays to grade and stood back up walking over to her desk and sat down on her very uncomfortable chair. A few minutes later she heard a knock on her door and set her quill down and grabbed her silk robe covering her bare shoulders as she answered her door expecting it to be Dumbledore…it wasn't. She gasped surprised a bit when she saw Oliver standing there and closed her robe tying it; she then looked back up at the Quidditch fanatic before her.

"What are you doing here at," She looked at his watch," 2:00 in the morning Professor?"

"Oliver, and I thought you might like some food." He said holding out some food he had grabbed from the Great Hall.

"I've-" She started but Oliver caught her lie.

"No you haven't, you weren't at dinner and you were…busy when you went to get dinner earlier." He smiled when he saw that she was a bit dumbstruck.

She looked at her portrait, Fidelis, and he smiled a bit at her before leaving the frame, Hermione sighed and opened her door more and said," Come on in."

He smiled and walked in setting her food down on her desk, moving some of her papers, she gestured towards the seat she had previously sat on while grading papers and he sat down in it and grimaced and she remembered how uncomfortable her chair was and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, that chair is really uncomfortable." She said blushing a bit.

"Why don't you just cast the cushioning charm on it?" He asked getting up and taking the food and walking over to her sitting on the bed and sat next to her, making her move over some.

"I want it to be uncomfortable." She explained vaguely.

He laughed a bit," Care to explain?"

"Well if I'm grading papers late at night, like tonight for instance, I don't want to fall asleep and if I'm sitting in that chair I'm probably not gonna fall asleep." She fully explained seeming a bit silly.

"Probably?" He quoted," Have you ever fallen asleep in that chair?"

"Twice, but those were very long and eventful days." She replied looking at the now very interesting floor. "So, uh, you saw what happened with Malfoy?" She asked looking over at him and couldn't help but realize how tired she was.

"Yeah, quite a lesson you taught him." He commented but she shook her head slightly.

"Nope, he'll just confront me again, and we'll go through the same dance steps as tonight, it's how he is." She said flatly.

"I dunno, maybe this time he'll get the hint." He smiled and wrapped and arm around her shoulder in a friendish way.

"Maybe." She said half asleep, not having fully realized what Oliver had done, and not fully realizing that at that moment she had laid her head against his shoulder.

She slowly closed her eyes and was soon out like a light. He looked at her and sighed moving slightly so he could lay her down. As he did he slipped off her robe and looked at her bare shoulders and was stunned, not having seen her in anything besides her teachers' robes. He shook his head and put her under the covers and gently tucked her in. He looked over at her before walking over to the door and whispered a spell that extinguished the lights in the room before he walked out for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 5

Hermione slowly opened her eyes the next morning and sat up looking around her room and was met with two brown eyes. (I think his eyes are brown…). She gasped and jumped backwards falling off the bed and onto the floor. She heard laughing and stood up looking over her bed at Oliver who was trying to suppress his laughter. She glared at him then remembered what she was wearing and grabbed her robe from his hands and tossed it on before turning back to him.

Oliver smiled at her then with his thick Scottish accent he asked," Sleep well?"

She looked up at him suddenly and the look in her eyes was strange before she coughed out," Great."

Oliver cocked his head to the side a bit knowing that she was lying a bit and noticed she looked flushed then he asked," Right, well how would you like to join me in Hogsmeade today?"

As Hermione looked at him her eyebrows knitted together and she asked," Don't you have class?"

He tried not to laugh again when he explained," It's Saturday."

She blushed and looked down again then nodded," Right, but I really can't I have to grade papers and…wait a minute…how did you get in here?"

He smiled then nodded towards her portrait," Fidelis let me in."

Hermione looked passed Oliver and at Fidelis who took that moment to swing shut then she looked back and Oliver and said," Well as I said, I cannot join you at Hogsmeade, I have a lot of work to do," She moved forward to Oliver pushing him to the exit and opened the door pushing him out gently then said," Goodbye Professor Wood." And shut the door.

Oliver sighed before saying to nobody in particular," Oliver, call me Oliver." He turned and looked down the hallway before continuing down it.

--

In the next week and a half to come Hermione had taken extra measures to ensure that she was left alone, she came to dinner almost every night and ate something, whether it be a plate full or just a little bit, she ate it. The first night that Hermione came and there wasn't an announcement Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at Oliver who just smiled, but the smile faded when he saw that Hermione once more sat at the end of the table and started writing. Dumbledore was not the only person to notice some changes in Hermione, actually all the teachers noticed but didn't say anything in fear of her retreating back to her room. Well, most teachers, it seemed though that three teachers were continually pointing out this fact to Hermione. (I'll give you 10 guesses as to which they were, and the first 9 don't count). At least once every other day one of the three (Pansy, Malfoy, Snape) came up to Hermione and didn't directly point out her changes, but they subtly said something. And, as we all know, Hermione is a very clever girl, but to their dissatisfaction she did not retreat but held her head up high and said something witty and hurtful (also subtly) to whoever it was that made the first comment to her. Finally, on Friday Oliver got the time to intercept her making her way down to dinner after her last class.

"Hey, Hermione." He said walking up next to her.

"Hello Professor." She replied looking straight ahead.

Oliver rolled his eyes at her formality and then looked around and realized that there was no one watching. He smirked a bit before coming to an empty classroom and for the first time in her life a boy carried Hermione into a classroom. He grabbed her behind around the waist and lifted her, kicking and clawing I might add, into the classroom and set her down casting **colloportus on the door locking it. **

**She rounded on him with such intensity he thought she was going to hit him before she spoke, well kind of yelled," What do you think you're doing!"**

**He took a step backwards and held his hands up in defense," What? Nobody's ever pulled you into a classroom?"**

**"Oh come on! What are you going to do snog me!" She yelled and she swore he got a bit red.**

**"Of course not, I just want to talk to you." He said trying to remain calm.**

**"We have talked, we were talking in the hall before you dragged me in here."**

**"We weren't talking, you were making polite conversation because that's who you are, polite Miss Granger."**

**"Is that a bad thing!"**

**"No, I just…"**

**"Just what?"**

**He threw up his hands," I just want to talk to you without having to be polite! Like when you talk to Malfoy."**

**"I don't talk to Malfoy, I curse him!"**

**"Then curse me!"**

**She hesitated for a split second then said," No!"**

**"Why not!"**

**"Because I'm just not going to!"**

**"Hermione-"**

**"Why did you come back to teach?" She asked suddenly.**

**This caught Oliver off guard and he opened his mouth to say why truthfully then stopped and shut his mouth. Hermione nodded to herself then said," When you can tell me why, we'll talk, until then…goodbye Professor Wood." She unlocked the door (alohamora) and walked out leaving Oliver alone again.**


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Before I get right down to the story, I would like to adress my readers, something that I haven't done in this story...ever, so here it goes:

**titflo**: Thank you for the compliment, I'm trying as hard as I can to keep them in character but it's a bit harder with Oliver since we've only seen him a few times in the movies/books and unfortunatly people always describe him as arrangant and people who have read a lot of H/O stories (including me) have possibly come to expect that but I'm trying to change that image. And about the Hermione Oliver interaction I hope I satisfy it in this chapter...at least for a bit.  
**bob**: Well this is a simple response, _thank you_.  
**bananabright**: Thank you, and I plan to continue but it's always nice to hear it  
**Tinas74**: This is going to be semi long - 1.) What confused you, I can't fix my style if I don't know what's wrong now can I? 2.) I'm on a laptop so chapters seem longer to me, and most of them are 1-2 pages long, and if people like quantity more than quality well I might as well write the normal stuff, Hermione-man hating, Oliver-arrangant, kiss in second chapter, but I like to think my chapters mean more even if they might be a bit shorter, so deal. 3.) It's the third chapter you commented on, gimmie a break, it's hard to describe characters, even J.K. needed an entire book and contrary to popular belief, I don't have the time nor the finger/wrist strength. And I'm working on my whole 'she said' 'he said' 'he shrugged' and trying to get more in depth. Thank you for your critiques and they were much appreiciated, they brought be off my writing 'pedestal' so to speak.  
**titflo**: (yes again, I noticed two comments thought I'd adress both and I'm just going through them in order) Thank you very much, I was going for the mysterious Hermione thing, I love mysteries and there's only about two other things I love about mysteries also, solving them (just call me Nancy Drew, btw, can't wait to get the next game!) and being a mystery. So thanks for the comment and tapping into the mystery that is adult Hermione.  
**MahoganySwirl**: And I'm back on the pedestal! I love being part of C2's, I'm in two not counting the one you added me to, both for Charmed (hence the name and they were both piper/leo, but I stopped watching Charmed when they hit season 8, it was dumb, they should have left it where it was...rant over) and I feel very honered, thank you. And I love seeing a review happy about an update...by the way...nice stuffed animal.

Now: onto the story!

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 6

It was another two weeks before Oliver talked to Hermione again, this time it was neither Hermione nor Oliver's doing, it was Fidelis's. One night Oliver was sleeping in his room when he heard a loud 'roar' and he recognized it as Fidelis's and looked at the clock "_It's 4:30 in the morning…something must be wrong"_ he thought before quickly getting up going into his common room and looking at the picture frame where Fidelis was standing.

"What is it?" Asked Oliver.

"She's having a dream, this one is the worst one she's ever had, I can't wake her up, you need to." He said and this was an uncommon moment where Fidelis looked almost desperate.

"She doesn't want my help." Oliver said trying to keep the concern from his voice.

"But she needs it, please Oliver." Said Fidelis and Oliver finally subdued to his worries and ran out of his room and met Fidelis at his portrait, Fidelis swung open and Oliver finally heard her screams as he ran over to her bed, she was tossing and turning. He crouched down to her level then he started shaking her saying her name over and over.

Hermione gasped and sat up in bed; she was pale and dripping with sweat as she looked over at Oliver, as she spoke her voice involuntarily shook," What are you doing here?"

"Fidelis heard you screaming and-" He started but she cut him off by asking something he did not expect.

"Why didn't he wake me up?"

He looked at her then answered by saying," He said he couldn't."

She nodded a bit and looked down at her hands and said quietly," Thank you Oliver."

He blinked then replied," You're welcome."

She looked over at him then said," Well…goodnight." With that she turned onto her side her back facing him and she expected him to go away but he didn't, wouldn't.

"Hermione." He said softly and touched her shoulder making her sit back up and move away. "Are you afraid of me?" He asked incredulously.

"Of course not." She replied defensively then said," I just don't like people in my room at night in the dark."

He shrugged and turned on the light making her shield her eyes before she got used to it," There, no more darkness."

She sighed before getting up and said," Give me a moment." He nodded and pulled a footstool over and sat on it waiting for her.

She got into the shower trying to wash off the nightmare and got out quickly and put on some makeup hiding the dark spots underneath her eyes then walked out in her teacher's robes again. She walked closer to him but kept a decent amount of space between them. Oliver gestured towards a seat and asked," Aren't you going to sit down?"

Hermione shook her head," It's almost time for me to go down for breakfast anyway."

Oliver hesitated then nodded and suddenly asked," Why couldn't I hear you screaming?"

Hermione winced a bit and then asked," How could you anyway?"

"My room is right next door." He explained then waited for her to.

"Oh, I uh, I cast a spell that sound proofs this room, I can hear things outside but no one can hear things in here." She said and Oliver raised his eyebrows.

"Now why in the world would you do that?"

"Listen it's getting late you should go get ready for cla-" Oliver took this chance to cut in.

"How many of these dreams have you had before?"

"I don't know what-"

"I know you've had them before, how many times?"

"I'm not sure."

"What are they about?"

"I forget them after I wake up."

"You're lying."

Hermione had finally had enough," I've been called quite a great deal of things in my life Mister Wood, bookworm, know-it-all, mudblood and many others I do not wish to say in the company of others, but never a liar. Yes I've had these dreams before, how many times, I've lost count, and I have no idea what they're about, all I know is that I wake up screaming or crying or just plain terrified." She took a breath and looked at Oliver who was dumbstruck. She shook her head and walked out of the room accio-ing her journal and briefcase. Oliver looked down at his hands and sighed.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Just a side note to my (I think) most loyal reviewer, Titflo, I don't like mentioning other users in my stories too much but since they're (not sure if you're a boy or a girl, sorry) an anonymous (I can't spell...) reviewer, I guess it's safe. I just want to expand a bit on Fidelis since you said that you like him. His name is actually Latin for courage I think (I wrote this story a while ago...) and since lions are usually compared to loyalty and courage, I thought, what the hell, most of **my **characters names or spells that I made up (there are two that will come into play) are latin for something. And I thought Hermione needed someone to protect her since she's gone through a hard time, what that time was you'll find out later.  
So onto the story.  
Ah, before I go I just wanted to say that the reason I'm updating is BECAUSE of Titflo, because they reviewed, I know this is typical but I live for feedback, if people don't seem interested in my stories then...well I'll continue (just to be a pain in the ass) but it will take me a lot longer to update because I'm waiting for a review!  
Well...thanks for reading.  
...one more thing, I know you're getting ansy and ready for the story but I thought this might help in the reviews, I'm asking for anyone who can guess who/what (there is both so guess on both if you want to) is tourturing Hermione. If you get it right...well maybe I'll mention you or something in my story or whatever, (remember I'm a feedback junkie). So this is for real, HAVE FUN READING!

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 7

Hermione finally had her evasive maneuvers down pat, she had her room moved (much to Sir Edgar and Fidelis's protests, but Fidelis insisted that she leave an empty frame for him, which she agreed to), she asked an elf to bring her dinner every other day, and she only left her room for classes, announcements in the Great Hall, and the occasional trip to Hogsmeade. One day she was getting ready to leave her classroom for the night when she saw Oliver leaning against her doorframe, it had been a week or so since she saw him and she sighed and grabbed her things walking passed him. He closed his eyes in a wince before following.

"Hermione, Hermione I'm sorry." He said catching up to her.

"For what Professor?" She asked being her polite self.

"You know what, don't play coy, it doesn't suit you."

"How would you know what suits me."

"I know you're not like those little brained girls we used to go to school with."

"You mean the ones who swooned over you?"

"Yes, I mean…Hermione!" He said grabbing her upper arm.

Hermione turned to him and tried to take her arm back but his Quidditch muscles stopped her," Let go of me." She demanded.

"Not until you listen to me."

"What are you going to do drag me into another classroom?"

He pulled her closer so that their faces were almost touching," If I have to."

She, surprisingly, didn't pull away," I won't let you treat me like a child." She closed her eyes and looked back at him before pulling away with surprising strength and walked away towards the railing, she looked over at him and said," Goodbye Oliver." With that she leaned backwards over the railing falling over it.

Oliver's eyes widened as he ran over," Hermione!" When he reached the edge of the railing he didn't see Hermione only, her briefcase and journal hitting the ground. His eyebrows knitted together and then finally he saw a hawk flying over him and fly towards the ground turning into the one and only Hermione Granger. She picked up her items, her hair now free from it's usual bun falling over her face as she looked back up at him and nodded at him the tiniest hint of a smile on her face that Oliver almost missed it before she went on her way to her new room. Oliver smiled and laughed a bit before saying to nobody," Well played Hermione, well played."

--

Hermione laid in her bed and couldn't help but realize how uncomfortable it was compared to her other bed in her other room. She sighed and sat up walking over to her famous uncomfortable chair and started grading the parchments. She looked up when she heard knocking and looked out her self installed muggle peephole and saw it was Oliver. She bit her lip and hid her papers that Oliver knew she carried with her and transfigured into a crookshanks look alike and sat on top of the bed.

Oliver looked at the new portrait which was a hippogriph named Dean, Dean had been informed as to who he was and why he was here so he let Oliver in. Once he was in the room he saw a cat (Hermione) on top of the bed and remembered in Hermione's third year she had gotten this cat and was surprised that it was still alive. He looked on her desk and didn't see any papers so he guessed that she was out wandering the castle and decided to wait for her. He sat on her bed next to what he thought was just Hermione's cat.

When Hermione saw him sit down she knew he was going to wait for her as a human to walk in. She saw him reach over to pet her and she jumped away hissing. Oliver jumped off the bed and stared at the cat and said," Whoa, whoa there." He saw that the cat just was not backing down and sighed before he said aloud to himself," Apparently you don't like me either, Hermione must have talked badly about me huh?" He remembered a trick that his grandfather taught him about 'taming wild beasts' as he had said and started humming an old Scottish song.

Hermione stopped hissing when he started humming and was now listening to his soft hum. She didn't even realize that Oliver had approached her again until she felt his soft touch on her back. She closed her eyes and then remembered who he was and jumped off the bed looking back at him with her wide cat eyes. Oliver looked at her confused before she walked over to the portrait and started meowing, wanting to get out. Oliver walked over and opened the door when he stood face to face with Hermione Granger.


	8. Chapter 8

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 8

Hermione (cat, we'll keep calling her Hermione, shall we?) looked up at the other her (and we'll call her 'the woman') and back at Oliver who saw nothing wrong with this except for the fact that he was in Hermione's room without her and, knowing Hermione, he could be in serious trouble. Surprisingly though, the woman wasn't angry, she smiled even, this SHOULD have tipped Oliver off but he's just a boy, we really can't expect much from him. (To any boys reading this, don't take offense to that, it's a JOKE).

The woman walked over to Oliver getting a bit close and asked," Oliver, what are you doing here?"

Oliver rose and eyebrow slightly at the fact that she called him Oliver and asked," So it's Oliver now? What happened to Professor Wood?"

She smiled and got closer making Oliver's eyes widen before she said," Posh." And then she backed off going over to Hermione's desk and setting down some books then turned back to Oliver and said," Come on Oliver, we're both professors here, we've known each other for a while now haven't we?"

He shrugged still a bit confused," I suppose."

"Well we should be on first name basis by now, I mean you already call me by my first name." The woman turned to him and saw the real Hermione standing behind Oliver just staring at her, of course she didn't know that it was Hermione and walked over to Hermione saying," Oh, Crookshanks!" Then she preceded to pick her up and holding her like a baby.

By now the real Hermione was very put out and immediately jumped out of her arms. The woman shrugged and turned to Hermione's desk and was about to grab one of her personal files when Hermione jumped onto the desk hissing angrily. The woman backed off and turned back to Oliver who was getting even more confused by the second.

"Why doesn't Crookshanks seem to like you today?" Asked Oliver looking back at the cat who looked at him trying to silently warn him.

"Crookshanks has been very fussy lately, besides, that cat doesn't like anyone." Replied the woman and Hermione took that opportunity to leap to Oliver who was sitting on a chair and press up beside him then looked at the woman with her face in a defiant way. The woman looked back at Hermione then at Oliver again and said," Well, let's forget Crookshanks." And with that she picked Hermione up and put her on the ground then turned to Oliver and sat lightly on his lap facing him and said," Do you like me Oliver?"

Oliver opened his mouth to say something but the woman ignored it and started kissing him!

Oliver was completely shocked but kissed the woman back thinking it was Hermione, meanwhile the real Hermione was even more shocked and looked back at the woman when she saw that her once long wavy brown hair (like Hermione's) was shortening, straightening, and turning a darker brown, almost black. Hermione saw that she was reaching for her wand and jumped onto the woman's back digging her claws into the woman's back making her jumped up and off of Oliver.

Hermione held on tight before she felt the woman grab her by the fur on her back and toss her off and onto the ground, Hermione however landed on her feet and looked back at the woman whom, Hermione guessed, was changing back to her real form because the effects of a polyjuice potion was wearing off.

The woman let out a yell and turned to the smirking (on the inside of course, I've never actually seen a cat smirk but…) Hermione and let out a frustrated sound before kicking her back into a wall knocking her unconscious and shifting her back into her natural form. Oliver jumped up looking from the real Hermione back to the woman who was now shifting back into her real form, which was that of _Pansy Parkins_.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Okay, this is for real, once and for all about my chapter lengths, I'm on a LAPTOP, so they seem longer then they are I guess and like I said before: it's quality not quantity! If you want a half ass story with no real plot but is long then go somewhere else, the chapters may be short but I hope that they mean more then a game of spin the bottle! (don't ask, a very bad fanfic shudders). And my chapters only come out fast because 1.) they're pre-written, I wrote them a few months back, and 2.) I have a very loyal...almost stalker-ish fan_**GIRL**_ (kidding) and you know who you are. So here's another chapter, enjoy.

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 9

Oliver reached for his wand but remembered he left it in his room," _Smart move Wood._" So he just watched Pansy who smiled and waved at him and grabbed her wand but before she could say anything Hermione pointed a finger at her and said, "Accio Wand!" Pansy's wand flew out of her hand before she realized what was going on. The former Slytherin student looked around and before he could react she ran of the room and sprinted down the hall in fear and enjoyment at the same time.

Oliver ran out of the room to get a better look and once she was out of sight Oliver remembered Hermione and ran back inside the room and saw her start to wobbly get up. He took a few long strides over to her and helped her up and saw that she had a busted lip from hitting the wall…and then the ground.

He got a tissue and gave it to Hermione who took it thankfully and dabbed her lip then looked over at Oliver locking eyes with him before they both looked away a bit embarrassed. Hermione looked at her arm and realized Oliver still had a firm, but gentle, grasp on her arm.

She took a few steps towards her bed trying not to wince at the pain in her chest where she was kicked then she stumbled backwards and waited for the pain of the hard ground but it never came. She looked up behind her and saw that Oliver had grasped her under the arms gently stopping her. She blushed a bit and Oliver helped her onto her feet and to the bed gently setting her down. She looked back at him and smiled a bit and then said," Thanks Oliver."

Oliver raised his eyebrows then said," Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you, after all you saved me from…well doing something regrettable with _Pansy Parkins._"

She looked over at him before looking back at her tissue and dabbed it nervously against her lip," She was reaching for her wand, I couldn't just do nothing."

He smiled a bit and then hugged her gently making her flinch at the sudden touch and he whispered in her ear," Thank you Hermione Granger."

Hermione hesitated then slowly wrapped her arms around the man before her and whispered softly," Anytime."

They stayed like that for a while, how long, neither of them knew, finally Oliver reluctantly pulled away and saw Hermione was half asleep, 'why does she keep falling asleep on me?' he thought looking at her and then decided to do something he knew a fully awakened Hermione would kill him for since he wasn't fond of the idea that another Hermione, or another him even, could walk in undetected he lifted Hermione onto her feet and gently half-carried, half-walked her back to her old room with Fidelis guarding it. The painted lion smiled and waited for a password and heard Hermione mutter it sleepily and swung open allowing the two young teachers into the room.

Oliver walked into Hermione's old room and laid her onto the bed like he did the second day he had been at Hogwarts. He smiled a bit after he left and closed the door then walked into his room and walked over to his bed before laughing and jumping up and down in a happy fashion then said aloud," She called me Oliver."


	10. Chapter 10

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 10

When Hermione woke up after a fitful sleep she remembered what had happened the night before and then she realized she was in a different room, her old room that she had stayed in for about two years and had recently moved out of. She sat up and looked around seeing that her stuff had been moved. She looked over at the painting in which Fidelis sometimes resided and saw that the lion was in fact there and stood up from his laying position and smiled at her then welcomed her back.

"Who brought me here?" She asked quietly.

"Oliver Wood helped you here." Replied Fidelis.

"Why."

"He was worried that someone would be able to just walk into your common room." He looked proud as he said," He thought that I would be a better guard."

She nodded a bit then said," He was right."

Fidelis smiled again as Hermione cracked a smile also before he said," The young Mr. Potter and Weasley are here to see you."

Hermione looked at the door then at Fidelis and smiled broadly, this was one of her good days, and jumped up getting changed before she opened her door and was embraced by Harry then Ron.

She invited them in and they all sat down, avoiding her chair since they knew of it, and they just started chatting like they were still in school. Finally they got to a point, about ten minutes into the conversation, when they told her the reason they had come.

"'Mione, we really did have a reason for coming…" Started Ron pausing at the end.

"…And, oh come on Ron, whatever it is I'm sure I can handle it." She said and looked over at Harry once he started talking.

"Well, Ron's engaged." Said Harry and waited.

Hermione paused then reached over and hugged Ron tightly and when she let go she slapped him on the back of the head," Don't you ever worry me like that!" 

Harry smiled thinking," _She's having a good day…_"

Hermione smiled back at the two boys and asked," So how did you propose to Lavender?"

Ron then proceeded to explain everything for about two hours, luckily it was a Hogsmeade day and Hermione didn't have a class for a while. Once he was done Harry stood up and regretfully said," Well we've got to be off, the Ministry doesn't wait for us, no matter how much we ask."

Ron nodded and also stood up and looked at his watch," Bloody hell. By 'Mione." He kissed her on the cheek as usual and walked out the portrait where he waited for Harry, who had stayed a bit behind.

Harry took Hermione's hands in his and asked gently," Are you sure you're okay?"

Hermione nodded," Yes."

"Are you really?" He asked lightly squeezing her hands in a friendly way.

"I'm fine, I swear, now go."

Harry nodded and said," Alright, call me if you need me though."

"Tell Katie I said hello." She smiled when he turned around and nodded before he left.

Hermione waited until she couldn't hear their voices/footsteps anymore then she walked slowly over to her bed and laid down curling up and started to cry uncontrollably.


	11. Chapter 11

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 11

Hermione told Dumbledore that she could not teach her class and asked for someone to fill in for her, he agreed and as he watched her he saw a cut on her lip but didn't say anything about it.

Oliver waited after Hermione's usual last class and when he saw Dumbledore walk out he was very surprised when he asked," Professor Dumbledore, uh, where's Hermione?"

"She told me that she was unable to teach her class, so I took over for her." Explained Dumbledore then continued," Oliver, it seems as though Hermione started to become more social then she withdrew, it might be good if you would let her come to you, don't continue to push her into a corner, because she will bite." He left Oliver standing there and nodded to himself knowing that Hermione was not afraid to let her claws come out.

One Oliver got to his room he saw Harry waiting outside for him, the two exchanged in a manly hug since they had continued writing to each other after Hogwarts. Oliver invited him in and Harry agreed. Once they got settled Harry begun talking.

"I came because Dumbledore informed me of your…mission as it were." Explained Harry.

Oliver sighed inwardly," He's just telling everyone now isn't he?"

Harry chuckled a bit," Yeah, and I thought you ought to know about what actually happened instead of finding it out from someone who doesn't actually know about anything." Harry paused waiting for Oliver to say something.

"Alright." Said Oliver.

Harry sighed a bit then started," Last year Hermione was teaching here and dating Viktor Krum, I expect you know this." Oliver nodded and raised an eyebrow when Harry said Viktor Krum because he said it with a bit of hate in his voice but he bit his tongue. "They had gotten together after Hogwarts because it was too hard for them to date with her being in school, and about a year after she was out she was dating Dean Thomas and they almost got married, but she left two days before the wedding after freaking out. After they had been together for two months, the war had reached it's peak and Hermione just wouldn't back out, no matter how many times I asked and gave her reasons and even begged at one point. She told me 'I've been here since the beginning Harry, I'm not going to back out now, and I'd like to see you stop me.'" Harry smiled at the memory and continued," She never did listen to me. About a week after the war was over we were just cleaning up some of the Death Eaters that had escaped and Hermione was on vacation with her parents…"

_Flashback:_

_(Flashbacks are all in italics)_

Hermione was in Ireland with her parents going shopping when three Death Eaters appeared in the middle of the street, curses blazing. One finally spotted Hermione and pointed their wand at her and yelled the last spell she wanted to hear," Avada Kedavra!" Hermione covered her face for impact…

Harry paused looking at Oliver then said," Her father had taken the curse for her."

Hermione looked up and saw her father's lifeless body right in the spot she had just stood at…

Harry sighed," Something in her snapped. She took out her wand and started cursing everyone, she used Avada Kedava without blinking…"

Hermione looked around at the three Death Eaters that she killed and then looked for her mother and saw her crouching for protection. Hermione ran over and helped her up, her mother looked at her then backhanded her. Hermione looked back at her mother with tears in her eyes.

"Her mother never forgave her, said it was Hermione's fault that her father died, said that if Hermione hadn't been a witch, he would still be alive and that she wished it was Hermione who had gotten hit with the curse. They haven't seen each other since the funeral. As you might have guessed Hermione desperately needed someone she could talk to and, I regret to say, she didn't come to Ron Ginny or me." Harry said and looked at Oliver who finished the sentence with him.

"She went to Krum." They said and Harry nodded.

"After Ireland she went straight to Krum and they stayed together for a few weeks until he just changed."

Krum walked into Hermione's house and the room where Hermione was residing, she was sitting in a chair looking out of a window. He walked over to her and said," Herm-o-ninny" Hermione looked over at him and smiled slightly at how he said her name as he continued," You need to get out of this house, or at least stop just sitting here looking pathetic." He said in a harsh voice making Hermione very confused.

"Viktor, what's the matter with you?" She asked.

He sighed and turned away from her and said," I'm leaving."

Hermione stood up tears in her eyes," What?"

"I cannot just stay here and watch you mope around here like a spoiled child."

"My father died and my mother hates me, how am I supposed to act?"

_He turned back to her," I can't be in this relationship. It's too much."_ _Hermione opened her mouth to say something but closed it again and watched him walk out._

End Flashbacks

Harry shook his head," She broke down, completely and totally. She stopped talking to everyone unless she was asked to. She put up a shield, nobody could get in contact with her." Harry stopped and looked at Oliver and said," Then we got in contact with her and she seemed to be over it, and Ron, Ginny and I usually visit once or twice a month, but now that Ron's engaged, and Ginny is married, they've been really busy, I'm afraid they're gonna stop completely and leave Hermione by herself."

Oliver shook his head," She's not alone here, everyone loves her."

"Who couldn't? But she needs someone to talk to, and she talks to us but she's been withdrawing from us lately." Harry explained.

"She has nightmares, a lot, she told me that she's lost count on how many she's had exactly and all she knows about them is that they terrify her." Said Oliver and Harry nodded.

"So I hear." He looked at his watch," Oh man, I seriously gotta go, Katie's gonna kill me."

"Katie Bell? You're dating Katie Bell?" Asked Oliver and Harry smiled nodding.

"For a year and a half now." Said Harry proudly.

Oliver smiled and they both stood up said goodbye and Oliver sighed as he closed the door and finally realized how much Hermione went through and realized why she always pulled away once he got close.


	12. Chapter 12

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 12

Hermione looked over at the clock and rolled back over to the other side of the room and closed her eyes trying to forget.

--

Oliver on the other hand was walking the halls trying to get to the Great Hall without running into _Pansy_. He thought of that name with disgust then wondered where Hermione was and when he thought of her name…well he didn't completely hate the sound of it. He walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the end before he realized that Hermione wasn't coming. After about 15 minutes after breakfast started he looked over and saw Pansy smirking and making kissing faces at him and he was about to stand up and leave when the Great Hall doors opened with a loud bang, he looked and smiled when he saw Hermione making her way to the staff table.

"So sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your breakfast everyone." She said smiling at some students who said hello to her as she walked up to the staff table and sat down next to Oliver. She looked at him and asked," What?"

He shook his head," Nothing." He smiled and they proceeded to eat breakfast while chatting a bit.

Hermione looked passed him once and her face fell for a second and Oliver looked to see what she was looking at and saw Malfoy looking at her meaningfully. Oliver looked back at Hermione who looked at him and smiled a bit but something was different, it was a less happy smile. Oliver smiled and looked around and saw that almost all of the students had cleared out for class or to study or something so he grabbed Hermione's hand, surprising her a lot by the way, and practically pulled her out of the Great Hall making the remaining teachers look at each other in surprise.

Oliver pretty much dragged Hermione out to the Quidditch field with her yelling at him practically the entire way.

"Oliver! I need to go and teach my class!" She protested.

"I thought you said your first class wasn't until later." He said still pulling her.

"Well yes but-" She started.

"So you have time now come on." He finished for her and started running even faster.

Finally he stopped at the Quidditch pitch and when he stopped so suddenly he made Hermione crash into him and fall onto her butt. Oliver grinned down at her and then helped the reluctant Hermione up, but not before he noticed that she winced a bit and put a hand on her hip, but once again he bit his tongue.

Hermione didn't notice that Oliver was looking at her because she was looking around and finally said with some amusement," At the Quidditch pitch? Why am I not surprised?"

Oliver snapped out of his trance and said," What do you mean by that?"

Hermione rolled her eyes," Oh come on, everyone who's known you for at least a few months knows of your true love…Quidditch, it's all you ever talked about. And anyone who wasn't into Quidditch, well they weren't talked to." She said with slight hurt in her voice.

Oliver looked at her and felt a bit guilty," Th-that's not entirely true."

Hermione nodded," Right, no it was Quidditch or beauty."

Now Oliver felt really bad because it was almost entirely true, he started to say something but stopped once he saw some of his students approach the pitch, he turned back to Hermione who said," Well, have a good class Professor Wood." She turned and started to walk away trying to keep the tears from spilling onto her cheeks.

--

Hermione sat in class grading papers while her class worked on turning a frog into a feather. She looked up when she saw a hand raised and smiled calling on them," Yes Gregory?"

Gregory seemed nervous and was kind of a mini-Neville and almost always did what his friends asked him to, he was a Gryffindor and had an over-all good heart. He cleared his throat and asked," Is it true that you and the Quidditch player Viktor Krum were married?"

Hermione took a sharp intake of breath at his name but answered the question with dignity," No, Gregory, we never were married but uh, we did date for a few months." Gregory nodded and went back to his transfiguration. Hermione dismissed them and sat at her desk trying to clear her head and skipping lunch. After all of her classes Hermione walked to her room and yelled in surprise dropping her supplies. Sitting by her portrait was Viktor Krum.


	13. Chapter 13

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 13

Hermione looked at him as he stood up and walked to her door leaving her stuff outside the door. She looked at her portrait and realized that Fidelis wasn't at it. She reached into her pocket and got out her enchanted keys that she had made in case she needed to get into her room and Fidelis wasn't at his post, they were enchanted so she alone could use them. She fumbled with them because her hands were shaking.

"Herm-o-ninny…" He started but she cut him off.

"My name is Hermione." She said coldly still trying to fit her key into the keyhole.

Krum sighed and reached for her wrist stopping her fumbling," Please listen to me."

She yanked her arm back easily and practically hissed out," Never."

Krum grabbed her upper arm and gripped it tightly," Listen to me!"

Hermione tried to yank her arm back since she had her wand in her bag, which she had dropped and didn't think of accio-ing it," Let go of me!"

"Not until you listen to me!"

Hermione glared at him then started yelling," Help! Help!"

Oliver was walking back to him room when he heard Hermione yelling, instantly he started running as fast as he could. When he arrived on the scene he saw Krum trying to quiet Hermione who had quieted upon seeing Oliver. When Krum heard her stop yelling he turned to see what had quieted her so quickly, when he saw Oliver he said," Hello, I don't mean to be rude but ve are trying to have a conversation, so if you vouldn't mind leaving…"

Oliver shook his head and took a step closer," How about you let go of Hermione."

Krum turned back to Oliver, keeping a firm grip on Hermione," I do not think so, this does not concern you."

"It bloody well does." He said looking at Hermione who hadn't broken eye contact with him. She finally took her chance and ripped her arm away from Krum and back away from him.

Krum looked at her and then glared at Oliver and said," Vhy don't you just mind your own business?" Oliver glared right back and took a step forward but Hermione got in the middle of them.

"Hey, lets just stop it right here. You two are not gonna fight do you hear me?" Hermione said sternly.

Krum nodded," She's right, meet me outside in thirty minutes."

Hermione gasped," What? No!"

Oliver nodded," Make it ten and you've got a deal."

Hermione turned to him," Oliver!"

Oliver looked at her and then back at Krum," See you there." He turned and walked into his room while Krum looked at Hermione then walked away, to outside.

Hermione went into Oliver's room after him and said," You cannot seriously be doing this!"

Oliver looked at her then went back to taking off his robes (he has clothes underneath…)," Of course I am."

She brushed a hand through her hair," Why? Why do you need to fight him?"

"He hurt you Hermione, don't you care." He said.

Hermione's eyebrows furred together," He didn't hurt me Oliver, I mean my wrist is a little sore but…"

"That's not what I meant." He said with his back turned to her and closed his eyes in a wince; he hadn't meant to say that.

"What do you mean?" She asked softly.

Oliver turned to her then grabbed his wand and walked to the door," I don't know."

Hermione followed him," Oliver, talk to me, please!"

He didn't stop and didn't slow up," About what?"

She kept pace with him," You can't just be fighting him because he grabbed my wrist! What else is it? Is it your manliness?"

He shook his head," No."

They were now a few yards from the pitch when Hermione grabbed Oliver's arm making him stop," Please Oliver."

He looked down at her and said," You're right it's not just because he grabbed your wrist."

She threw her hands up," Than what is it!"

He paused then kissed her.


	14. Chapter 14

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 14

Hermione's eyes widened and before she knew what she was doing she was kissing the young flying teacher back. She opened her eyes when she heard a curse being yelled and her mind screamed," _NO!_" She pushed Oliver out of the way and they landed hard on the ground next to each other. Hermione looked up at who tried to curse them, and it was, of course, Viktor Krum.

Hermione grabbed her wand and pointed it at Viktor and sent his wand flying, now she had it pointed at his throat and was about to say a curse when Oliver's arm came out of nowhere and lowered her arm," Hermione, no."

Hermione looked at him then back at Viktor and said," You walked away, YOU." She paused seeing the look on his face then said, "now I'm over you." Viktor was about to say something when Hermione raised her wand again and he shut up. Hermione kept it there while she said," We're done here." Viktor nodded and Hermione lowered it once more and then she and Oliver walked away from the pitch but not before Oliver grinned at Viktor in a satisfied way.

--

Once they were inside they silently walked into Hermione's room where she proceeded to lay her wand on her desk then her body on her bed. She covered her head with a pillow and just laid there. Oliver smiled and lifted the pillow and saw that she had a few tears coming out of her eyes, he sat down next to her and asked," What's wrong Hermione? You won."

She nodded and sat up this time not moving away from Oliver," I know."

Oliver was confused now," Then why are you crying?"

"He makes me remember, what we had, how it ended." She explained.

Oliver rung his hands," So you're still in love with him…"

Hermione lifted her head then shook it," No, I meant what I said, I'm over him." She looked at him meaningfully," I think I'm ready to move on."

He looked at her," You think?"

She smiled a bit," I'm ready."

He smiled back and said," I would really like to kiss you now Hermione Granger."

"I would really like that too Oliver Wood." She smiled a true smile now as he leaned forward and kissed her gently.

--

The next day Oliver woke up next to Hermione, he sat up and realized that they had stayed up all night talking and had fallen asleep. He looked over at Hermione and smiled as she stirred and then woke up looking at him. She smiled at him and said," Hi."

Oliver smiled back," Hi."

She sat up," We should get ready for class."

He laughed a bit," You sound just like you did when we were in school."

She chuckled," Yes but now if we're late to class we could get fired, that means no more money."

He nodded," Right."

--

Oliver waited outside Hermione's door and looked at Fidelis who said," I don't recall you leaving last night."

Oliver looked at him and said quickly," We just talked, I swear-"

Fidelis laughed," I know young Wood, I know, and I stand by what I said, hurt her, and you will have a lot of people to deal with."

Oliver nodded then said," I would never intentionally hurt her."

Fidelis looked grim," That's what Viktor Krum said."

Oliver was about to say something when Hermione walked out, this time her hair down and she looked stunning, as Fidelis remarked on, and they walked into the Great Hall together, hand in hand.


	15. Chapter 15

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 15

As the two professors walked into the Great Hall hand in hand they saw everyone turn to look at them, then suddenly…3 of the 4 tables erupted in applause (guess which 3) and most of the staff smiled, especially Dumbledore. Hermione blushed as they walked together to be seated but Oliver just grinned at her and chuckled when he saw her cheeks turn pink. They sat down and just as breakfast appeared Oliver saw Dumbledore motion to him. Oliver excused himself and walked over to the headmaster.

"Yes sir?" Asked Oliver.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked over at Hermione then back at Wood and said, "It seems as though you have made quiet an impression on Ms. Granger."

Oliver nodded looking down then back up and said, "Headmaster, I know to be careful around her, and I won't hurt her like Krum did, but I need to ask, what did he do?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I do not know, and even if I did I am not the one to tell you."

Oliver nodded and asked, "Is there anything else Professor?"

"Just one more thing, just an observation but is Hermione missing something?" Dumbledore smiled and went back to eating, signaling the end of the conversation. Oliver's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion before he sat back down next to Hermione.

Hermione looked up at him and asked, "Everything alright Oliver?"

He seemed in a daze then realized she asked him something as asked, "Oh, uh, what?"

Hermione chuckled once and then asked, "What's wrong?"

Oliver shook his head, "Nothing." She turned back to eating with a shrug and he looked at her curiously.

Hermione felt eyes upon her and looked at Oliver and put down her fork and said, "Alright, what is it?"

Oliver shook out of his trance and then asked, "Hermione, are you, uh, missing anything by chance?"

Hermione looked around at her things, "Not that I know of, I have my papers for class, that's all I need really."

Something clicked in Olivers head and he asked, "What about that journal you're so fond of?"

Hermione smiled, "I have no need for it now." She then picked up her fork again.

Oliver smiled amused, "And why is that?"

Hermione turned her head to look at Oliver, her hair falling near her face and she said, "Because I have you now." She gave him a small loving smile then went back to eating.

Oliver looked surprised and then began eating as he said, "I knew you fancied me."

Hermione choked on her eggs and looked back at him and asked, "Oh really? How? Could it have been the kiss perhaps?"

Oliver shook his head, "I knew the moment I pulled you into that classroom and you wouldn't hex me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "Of course, because you all the all knowing Oliver."

Oliver nodded, "Well they always said you knew it all." Hermione gaped at him and he mocked her then went back to eating, she continued to gape at him and he turned to look at her and said, "Speechless? That's a first." She finally did something.

She silently took out her wand, and secretly did a silent spell, suddenly Oliver jumped up scratching at his back and knocked over a chair. Hermione tried to suppress a laugh when ice cubes began to fall out from his shirt.

He finally got them all out and turned to face the entire Great Hall who was looking at him like he needed to be in a mental institution, he muttered an apology of some sort and sat back down beside Hermione his head down. Hermione took a deep breath then leaned over to him and said, "Good show."

He looked over at her and realized that she had done it and said, "I need to see you, now, right now." He took her by the arm and led her outside the Great Hall, he looked around to see if anyone was looking and then turned back to Hermione intending to say something to her and opened his mouth to not see Hermione there, only a bit of robe escaping out of the main entrance door. He laughed pausing for a second before running after her.

He got outside and looked around and didn't see her. He scratched his head for a moment before the elusive Hermione Granger tackled him to the ground. She pinned him and with his hands at head level and he said, "Good to see you too."

She smirked and said, "What should I do with you now Professor Wood?"

He raised and eyebrow then flipped her pinning her onto her back and putting her hands above her head and said, "Call me Oliver." She smiled a bit and he said, "Now admit it."

"Admit what?"

"That you fancied me since the day I dragged you into that classroom." She was silent and he shrugged, "Alright." He then did the lowest thing you could do to a girl…he started to tickle her.

She squirmed but those damn Quidditch muscles! She was gasping for breath as she said, "Alright! Al-alright! Oliver, fine! I'll admit it, I'll a-admit!" Oliver stopped and she caught her breath then said sincerely, "I fancied you, since the moment you dragged me into that classroom."

Oliver paused knowing it was true and said, "Well alright then." He let go of her arms and she sat up then punched him in the shoulder.

Later that night, after all the classes were out, Oliver and Hermione were in her room sitting on the sofa looking at the fire, she was laying on his chest and he had an arm wrapped around her softly stroking her hair before he asked, "What was in that journal you were always writing in."

She opened her eyes and then shrugged and said, "A lot of things, drawings, notes, thoughts, I couldn't talk to anyone after…"

He looked down at her as she trailed off and asked, "After what?"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter now."

Oliver nodded letting it go then noticed that she was falling asleep on him...again he chuckled silently then said, "Hermione?"

"Hmmm?" She asked her eyes still closed.

"Why is it that you always seem to fall asleep on me?" He asked curiously.

She opened her eyes and thought then said, "You make me feel safe, I haven't felt like that in a long, long time."

He nodded and let her lay there with him just stroking her hair absently before she sat up and got an idea She walked over to her desk and Oliver sat up, "What are you doing Hermione?"

She ignored him before she finally found what she was looking for, "Aha!" She walked back over to him and held up her journal, "I don't need it any longer, so…" She walked over to the fire and threw in her once beloved journal, "Now, we can just watch it burn."

They leaned back onto the sofa and Oliver wrapped his arm around her once more as she closed her eyes feeling safe again. He looked down on her and kissed the top her head. She took in a deep breath and said, "I love you Oliver."

His eyes widened and he said, "I love you too." She smiled contently and drifted off to sleep and he sat there as a smile graced his lips and he soon fell asleep happily.


	16. Chapter 16

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 16

It was three weeks after the Viktor situation when disaster finally struck. Oliver and Hermione were very much in love but one thing kept them the slightest bit apart, Hermione's nightmares. She had realized that they were not natural and told Oliver and Fidelis this and they both agreed. So now every free moment the couple had was spent pouring over books trying to find something. But it seemed as though the nightmares were getting worse and Oliver could tell even though Hermione didn't tell him, and it killed him. One night her screams reached Oliver, he had insisted that she take down the soundproofing spell she of course argued and they decided that she take it down so only he could hear, and he had ran into her room, barefoot and shirtless (I had to have it in here once) only to see her tossing and turning.

Hermione looked at her watch then back at Oliver who was reading a particularly thick book and said," Oliver…Oliver, we'd better be going to dinner."

He looked up at her and thought then nodded," Right." He stood up and Hermione followed the suit.

About halfway through dinner Hermione had an epiphany she looked over at Oliver and smiled then whispered in his ear," Oliver, I have to go, stay here, I'll meet you in my room after dinner." And with that she stood up and said goodbye to her teacher friends and left the Great Hall. Oliver stood up to follow but felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked over and expected to see Dumbledore but saw the black sleeve that belonged to grease ball Snape.

"You wouldn't be leaving would you Professor Wood? I wanted to talk to you about the five points taken from one of my students." He said a smirk tugging on the corners of his lips. Oliver sighed and sat back down just catching a glimpse of Hermione's robes disappearing around the large Great Hall doors

--

After dinner Oliver went straight to Hermione's room and waited for about an hour until Fidelis appeared and said franticly," Oliver, there's something near the library that you need to see."

Oliver looked at Fidelis then got up and ran to the library, when he got there he saw many teachers standing around something, he pushed his way through and saw Dumbledore standing over Hermione who was just laying there with her eyes open mumbling something. He went down on his knees and asked," What happened!"

Dumbledore shook his head," I do not know, all that I know is that she fell asleep in the library and was woken up after she started to scream." He looked at Oliver as he said this and then continued," She collapsed out here after Ms. Pince, the librarian, ushered her out."

Oliver looked back at Hermione who didn't seem very aware of what was going on. He brushed her hair out of her eyes. Finally Madam Pomfrey had two male teachers drag Oliver away. Oliver calmed down until her saw two people pick Hermione up on a muggle-like stretcher and carry her away, then he broke free and yelled to Madam Pomfrey," Where are they taking her!"

She looked extremely sad and said," To St. Mungo's dear I'm-"

Oliver cut her off by running after them and yelling over his should," She's not crazy!" He got his broom and sped off to St. Mungo's where he ran into the waiting room and up to the desk, he looked at the receptionist and said," I'm looking for Hermione Granger."   
The receptionist looked at her clipboard and then said," She is ah, the doctor is with her. If you'll just have a seat over there..." She started to say but then Oliver heard Hermione scream and ran towards the sound with the nurse calling after him," Wait! You have to let the doctor handle this!"

Oliver ignored the yells and ran into a room where Hermione was tossing and struggling while the doctors tried to stop her without hurting her, they saw Oliver and said," You can't be in here."

Oliver looked at Hermione and asked," What's wrong with her?"

"Are you family?"

Oliver looked at the doctor then said," Yes! What's wrong!"

The doctor went back to Hermione and asked," Has she had a history of mental illness?"

Oliver shook his head," No."

"Does she do drugs?"

"No!"

The doctor shrugged," Well, she is having a psychotic episode, we've done a spell and nothing seems to be wrong with her brain."

Oliver grabbed Hermione's hand squeezing it while she continued to struggle.

--

Two hours later Oliver was in the waiting room running a hand through his hair when he saw Hermione's doctor come out, Oliver instantly pounced on him with questions. The doctor silenced him by saying that he could go in and see her.

He walked in and saw that they had strapped Hermione down, she wasn't tossing and her eyes were open but she was still mumbling something. He got a chair and sat down next to her and tool hold of her left hand and leant on the bed and said to her," Hermione, I'm gonna fix this. Promise. I'm gonna get you back…I need you back." He was trying to hold his tears back when he remembered what happened right before she freaked, she had gone to the library.

He leaned closer to hear what she was mumbling and heard," Nox noctis formidonis." He repeated it to himself and then reluctantly stood up and went back to Hogwarts and straight to the library ignoring all the questions from teachers and students alike. He went to the librarian and asked what book was the last one Hermione looked at, she started to say she was sorry about what happened but he cut her off," Don't, I don't mean to be rude, but please just get me the bloody book." Ms. Pince nodded and went to get the book. She returned with a book from the restricted section on illegal spells, he took it and said thank you then sat down at a table and went through the book looking for 'Nox noctis formidonis.'


	17. Chapter 17

AN: To those who read my 'chapter 16' when it first came out, I'm REALLY sorry, I'm currently updating two stories at once and I got my Harry Potter chapter and my Buffy The Vampire Slayer chapters mixed up so I'm really really sorry! Here's the next chapter, this is a REAL Hp chapter! And I promise it won't happen again...hopefully

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 17

An hour later Oliver had a 'eureka' moment when he found a page on dream spells. Nox noctis formidonis was Latin for 'Night terror' and was banned in 1856 when a witch named Katorah Grazel used it to drive her cheating fiancée insane and ultimately causing his death because he escaped from the hospital and ended up killing himself. Luckily there is a reversal spell called 'Licentia somnium' which is Latin for freed dreams and it would reverse the spell, unfortunately it must be cast on the person casting nox noctis formidonis to be of any use and then on the victim. Oliver shut the book after writing the reversal spell on a piece of parchment.

He folded it up and put it in his pocket and sighed thinking about who would cast an illegal spell on innocent Hermione. He racked his brain and came down with three suspects, Malfoy Jr., Pansy, and Snape. He then had to delete Snape because when he left the Great Hall he was already late to meeting Hermione and when he left Snape was talking with Professor Sprout and that woman could talk. He decided on Pansy because she was stupid enough to use this spell on Hermione, Malfoy wouldn't because as much as it pained him to say it, Malfoy was smart and good at covering his tracks, he probably knew what was going on and probably told Pansy to do it and in a blind attempt to be with Draco, Pansy had started casting the spell.

Oliver, now fueled by anger, started running to Dumbledore to find out which room Pansy's (or Draco's) room was because he knew that now they were continually casting the spell and not stopping like they did before. But before he could he saw his owl Penny fly in and drop a note in his hands, he sighed and ripped it open, it read:

_Dear Mr. Wood,_

_Since you are the only relative of Hermione J. Granger we have to inform you that she has recently escaped from St. Mungo's. We are out looking for her but currently have no leads. If you have any idea on where she could be please contact us in anyway._

_Sincerely,_

_Robert Chase_  
Robert Chase, head of staff. 

Oliver dropped the paper and his eyes widened before he took off in a run to Dumbledores. When he reached it he saw Draco waiting to talk to Dumbledore and Oliver grabbed him by the lapels and pushed him into a wall then yelled," Where is Pansy's room!"

Draco winced and said," Are you off your rocker Wood!"

He slammed him into the wall again and harder and said in a threatening voice," Tell me now, I won't ask again."

Draco winced and let out a yell then said," Room 324, it's the painting of the zoo, the second floor!"

Oliver gripped his tightly and said," If you're lying and Hermione dies…" He knew Draco knew what he ment and left the threat in the air then dropped Draco to the ground and ran to find Pansy's room. Once he got there he opened the door in a blast and saw Pansy sitting on the ground with her eyes closed chanting the dream terror spell, Oliver took out the paper then pointed his wand at Pansy and yelled," Licentia somnium!"

Pansy looked up in enough time to see a blinding light fly out of Oliver's wand right at her and hit her in the chest knocking her backwards and making her do a back flip. She looked up and him and asked out of breath," How?"

He smiled a bit grim and then said to her," Hermione figured it out." He kneeled down to her level and said," You ever try and come at Hermione again, I'll kill you."

He stood up again and walked out of the room then remembered Hermione and that she was still missing and ran to the broom closest and took out the fastest broom and flew around St. Mungo's close to the ground trying to find any traces of Hermione. As he flew by the forest he saw a bit of robe and hopped off his broom grabbing the robe, he recognized it as Hermione's and ran into the forest looking around for Hermione and calling her name.

Oliver looked around and cursed as it started to darken, finally he got out of the forest and saw a bundle of clothes and dark curly hair, recognizing it as Hermione he ran towards her and gently lifted her putting her back on her feet. She put her hands on his shoulders steadying herself then looked at him pausing then smiled and hugged him while saying," You figured it out…"

He grasped her tightly and said," You did, I just got the information second hand."

She kissed him on the cheek," You're the greatest."

He kissed her back on the lips passionately then said," I love you."

Hermione smiled as tears formed in her eyes and she replied," I love you too."


	18. Chapter 18

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 18

Oliver and Hermione had another month of happiness without Pansy, who got thrown into Azkaban for one year. At the end of May Oliver had just ended his flying class of first years, all of which were getting fantastic grades, and he saw Hermione waiting for him like she almost always did, this time though, she wasn't smiling. He flew over and hopped off kissing her on the cheek and then asked," What's the matter?"

She looked up at him and then said," Dumbledore wants to talk to you"

He looked surprised," What about?"

She shrugged," He just said it was very important he talked to you about it today."

He nodded and said with a grin," Walk me there?"

She looked like she was thinking and said," Oliver, I really must…" She trailed off when she saw his puppy-in-the-rain look and sighed then said," Alright."

He smiled and kissed her on the cheek as they walked to Dumbledore's office, when they arrived he said," Here we are, I'll meet you in your room when I'm done?"

She nodded silently and stood on her toes wrapping her arms around his head and she kissed him deeply," I'll see you then." She walked away keeping one arm on Oliver's until she got too far away and then her hand slipped off.

Oliver was surprised at the kiss then said Dumbledore's password and walked up to his office. When he got to Dumbledore's desk Dumbledore stood up to greet him, the two men shook hands and Dumbledore gestured to a seat and Oliver took it while asking," So Hermione told me you wanted to talk to me, what about?"

Dumbledore also took a seat," At the beginning of the year I recruited you to help Ms. Granger, as you did very skillfully, but now the end of the year is fast approaching and I have to ask whether you'd like to stay here at Hogwarts and teach, or go back to your professional Quidditch career."

Oliver was dumbfounded and for once at a loss for words, he opened and closed his mouth and said," Honestly Professor I forgot all about my Quidditch career."

Dumbledore nodded with a twinkle in his eye," You have been busy."

Oliver leaned back in his seat then said," Do I have to answer now?"

Dumbledore shook his head," Heavens no, I would imagine this will take a lot of planning, and talking."

Oliver nodded and stood up," Is that all?"

Dumbledore nodded and stood up also," Yes Mr. Wood." Oliver turned to go when he heard Dumbledore say," Oh and a word of advice, do not take this decision lightly."

Oliver turned back to the old Professor and said," I wouldn't dream of it." With that he walked out and to Hermione's room to tell her about the choice he now had to make.

--

Oliver knocked on the door and Hermione opened and ushered him in and asked," Well?"

Oliver sighed and said," He offered me to stay here and teach at Hogwarts."

She smiled and said," Well that's good."

He shook his head," It's not that simple, before I came I was uh, offered the keeper position on Puddlemere United Quidditch team. They let me postpone the career to come and teach here." He said slightly stretching the truth.

Her smiled faded a bit and she said," Well that's alright, I can visit you."

He rubbed the back of his neck," We travel a lot."

Her face fell," So you're saying that if you chose Quidditch, we'll have to break up."

He nodded tiredly," Yes."

Hermione sat down on her bed," Oh."

Oliver ran his hand through his hair," I don't want to break up Hermione, but I don't want you waiting here for me while I'm off playing Quidditch."

She nodded," I know, and I also know how much you love Quidditch, so if you want to go and play, I won't hold you back, and I don't want to be the reason that you would sacrifice your dreams."

He looked at her and said," Yeah, I know."

She looked back at him," So you are going to play Quidditch then?"

He shook his head," I really don't know, I just I need time to think about it." He stood up and walked to the door," See you tomorrow 'Mione." And with that he walked out and Hermione sat heavily on her bed.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: ARRRRG, I'm sorry, when I downloaded these I forgot about this, see I added chapter 15 late so I must have messed up! GOD, seeing as how I'm almost done this, it won't happen...in this story...again. SO ENJOY (this is not an enjoyable chapter though.)

Too Long In The Rain  
Chapter 18

About two days later Oliver still had no idea on what he was going to do, he loved Hermione, but he loved Quidditch. He groaned and flopped back on his bed," This shouldn't be this hard!" He said to himself. He heard a knock on the door and opened it and saw Hermione standing there smiling a bit, he groaned in his head, he had been avoiding her since their last discussion he plastered on a smiled and said," Uh, would you like to come in?"

She shook her head and said," But I would like you to come out."

He cocked his head slightly to the side, he knew she was planning something but just couldn't say no to those eyes, after all, he owed it to her since he had been ignoring her he nodded and said," Alright." She smiled broadly and grabbed his hands and pulled him up the astronomy tower stairs and when they reached a point she told him to stop.

She turned to him still smiling and said," Okay, close your eyes."

He looked at her suspiciously and then nodded," Alright." He closed his eyes and let her lead him.

She turned to him and smiled before saying," Okay, open your eyes."

He opened them and looked around, he was at the top of the astronomy tower positioned at the window so he could see everything, he was shocked, he'd never been here, well he'd been here but he'd never looked out the window. He stared out in wonder and said softly," Wow."

She looked at him and asked," Do you like it?"

He nodded, still looking," Love it."

She kissed him on the cheek and he wrapped an arm around her. They stood there for a while before Oliver realized what Hermione had wanted to do. He looked at her and then back out the window and said," I, uh, I still don't know what I'm going to do."

She looked up at him and pulled out of his grasp, turning away and said," You're going to play Quidditch."

He turned to her and asked," What?"

She turned back to him and said," I'm going to quit teaching to come with you."

He smiled a bit, this was what he had wanted, then reality hit him and the smile faded, she loved teaching and the students loved her, he couldn't let her give it up. He shook his head," You can't, it will always be a part of your life."

She shook her head and said quickly," No, I can cut it out of my life."

It was Oliver's turn to shake his head," No, you just can't cut it out. It doesn't work that way; teaching will always be a part of your life, forever.

Hermione looked at him almost pleadingly," It doesn't matter, because it's gone. That's it. It is over. I can do that."

Oliver walked away, still in the tower though," I can't figure this out right now."

Hermione stood in front of him," Okay, when? Where?"

Oliver was getting agitated with the whole situation," I need more time! I told you that."

Hermione shook her head," I'm afraid of this 'more time' stuff. I'm afraid it'll take forever and you'll leave and we'll never get another chance."

Oliver tried to stop her," Hermione, please-"

"Just listen to it, we'll be together and you'll have Quidditch it's a win-win situation." Her voice was desperate.

Oliver shook his head," No it's not, just don't-"

Hermione grabbed his hand," Oliver, I am all in. I'm all in. Please trust me. Let me show you what a great girlfriend I can be. But I can't wait. We can't wait. I need to know what you're thinking right now."

Oliver was angry at this situation," Fine. You want to know what I'm thinking right now?"

She nodded," Yes."

"That I'm going back to Quidditch alone and you're staying right here, without me." He blurted out and walked out before she could follow or say anything.

Hermione stood in the same stop stunned and said to herself," No."


	20. Chapter 20

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 19

Harry was at his apartment shared with Katie when Ginny appeared. He stood up and walked over to greet her when he saw that her face was grim. He walked over and asked," Ginny what's wrong? Is it John?"

She shook her head," No he's fine…it's Hermione."

He was now fully aware and he asked," What happened?"

She sat him down on the couch and said," Well I went to go an see her since it's been a while since I last did and when I got there, well look, uh, something happened with Hermione and Oliver, Hermione's in bad shape. I mean, she's down, Harry. And I did all that I could, but I think you oughta come. She needs you."

"Oh my God. Is she hurt?"

Ginny shook her head," No, not physically. Just come, okay?"

Harry nodded and said," Thanks Gin, you should can go home now." Ginny nodded and **disapparated.**

**Harry went to get his coat when Katie walked in the door and kissed him smiling and said," Hey you." She saw him walking to get his coat and asked," You're not leaving are you? You promised it would just be us tonight."**

**Harry closed his eyes in a wince and remembered," I'm so sorry, but Her-"**

**She rolled her eyes," Yes, yes, _Hermione _needs you, _again_. I give her once or twice a month with you, and you're always working! I just want one 'us' night." She said coming closer trying to seduce him.**

**He looked away knowing what she was doing and said," Katie please, she _really_ needs me."**

**She back away in disgust," God you'd think she was your girlfriend instead of me."**

**He looked at her," She's my best friend."**

**She looked angry," But I'm your _girlfriend_."**

**He backed up," I've known her for years, she helped me defeat Voldemort."**

**She flinched at the name and said finally," If you leave, don't come back."**

**He snorted a bit and said," No competition." He grabbed his coat and broom then walked to the door then said," I'll get my stuff later." He walked out the door and apparated as close to Hogwarts as he could then he hopped on his broom and flew to the castle where he ran inside and to Hermione's common room.**

As Harry walked into Hermione's room and saw her lying on her side staring at the wall and crying. He walked over and asked," Hermione what happened?"

She didn't even look at him she just said," He left, he just left."

Harry laid down next to her (friendly, get your mind out of the gutter) and asked," Who left? Oliver?"

"I should have done something, I just sat there and watched him leave, god I'm so stupid."

"You are not stupid Hermione, come on, try to sit up."

"He hates me, I blew it, I blew everything."

"I don't understand. What happened?" Asked Harry.

"He needed to think, it was a big decision, but I needed an answer, I didn't wait. Now he's gone."

"He won't just walk away, he waited for you."

"It's over." She said to herself.

"This isn't you. Lying in bed like this."

"You should go back to Katie, back to the ministry, somewhere where you can be happy."

"I'm not leaving you like this Hermione."

"I really screwed up this time." She said fresh tears starting.

"Try to sleep."

She had finally tired herself out and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

--

The next morning Hermione woke up and looked over at Harry who was lying next to her and looking at her, he smiled and then asked," Are you okay?"

She nodded," I'm good."

He shook his head," No you're not."

She mimicked him and said," No, I'm not."

He hugged her and said," It's okay 'Mione."

She gently pulled back and said," You should go home."

He shook his head," Nope, I'm in for the long haul."

She sighed and said," I don't want to put you out, Katie's gonna be mad."

He shrugged," So what. Hey, when was the last time you ate?"

She shrugged back," A little while ago."

He shook his head," There's no evidence that you've eaten or had anything to drink."

She sat up," I'm not thirsty or hungry."

He sighed," You need to drink something."

"I guess water." She said finally.

He smiled a bit," See."

She smiled back sadly and hugged him again and said softly," He could have been the one."

He nodded and hugged her back and kissed her on the forehead," I know, he'll come around, shh…"


	21. Chapter 21

Too Long In The Rain

Chapter 20

Harry got up once he was sure Hermione was back to sleep. He walked quietly out of the room and into the common room area. He plopped onto the couch and sighed watching the fire. When he heard the door being knocked at he jumped up and ran to the door trying to cease the knocking that could wake Hermione.

When he opened it his face dropped and he said a bit on the 'chilly' side," Oliver."

Oliver looked surprised and he asked," Harry, uh, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." He replied.

Oliver sighed inwardly," I came to give Hermione back her jacket, she left it in my room." He showed him the jacket.

Harry nodded and took it," I'll give it to her."

Oliver nodded also but slowly and said," Well I told you what I'm doing here, care to share your reason."

Harry chuckled a bit at Oliver's stupidity (sorry ya'll)," I'm here because my best friend needed me."

Oliver cocked his head to the side," Is she hurt?"

He snorted," I think we're done here." He went to close the door but Oliver stopped him and pushed through.

Oliver turned around to face him," Is. She. Hurt."

Harry nodded," Yes."

Oliver was very worried now," How did it happen? Who did it to her?"

Harry heard stirring in Hermione's room and he pushed Oliver out the door and followed," You hurt her Wood."

He took a step back," What?"

Harry through his hands in the air," Are you really that thick? She loved you Oliver, and then you took Quidditch instead of her."

"Harr-"

Harry shook his head and cut him off," No! She was going to give up everything for you, and I know you don't want that but you didn't have to break up for you to get Quidditch don't you get that? She would have waited for you!"

Oliver looked at him," Harry I-" This time it was not Harry who cut him off but the door opening.

Harry turned around and saw Hermione, who saw Oliver. She opened her mouth to say something when Fidelis said," Hermione go inside."

Hermione looked at the painting then back at Oliver but once again before she could say anything Harry took her gently but firmly by the shoulder and pushed her inside. He then turned to Oliver and said," Goodbye Wood." And with that he walked back inside.

When Harry walked back in the room he saw Hermione looking at the fire and when she turned to him he saw tear streaks down her face. He took long strides over to her and sat next to her letting her lean on his shoulder.

She cried into his shoulder and when she ran out of tears she looked over at the fire and said," I don't think I can handle seeing him every, single, day. And remembering what we had and could have had, every, single, day."

Harry sighed and kissed the top of her head and then laid his head on hers," I know sweetie, I know. But you'll get through this, we can get through it together, I promise I won't leave you alone."

She sighed back," That's gonna get really annoying."

He laughed and promised," But if I get annoying, just hit me with a book."

She laughed back and said," I promise I will do that.  
He smiled and looked back at her," See you laughed, we're one our way."

She smiled and looked back at the fire and her smile faded a bit.

The End

AN: If you guys want a sequal I'm working on one (it'll come out slower than this one did due to me having to write it all) so just tell me if you want one and if I get enough requests I will!


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